


This is not for us to ponder (this was pre-ordained)

by ElixirBB



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: AU, AU like whoa, Abuse, Angst, Blood, Character Death, Dark, Death, Emotional Abuse, F/M, Fighting, Fingering, Fire, HEED THE WARNINGS AND TAGS, Magic, Manipulation, Oral Sex, PLEASE HEED THE TAGS, Possessiveness, Scheming, Torture, Underage Sex, Vaginal Sex, little villains doing villanious things, mentions and discusses abuse against children, morally corrupt characters, multiple shipping, not a disney approved story, psychological abuse, seriously though this thing is kind of a monster, triggers ahead, world dominaton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-15 03:11:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4590828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElixirBB/pseuds/ElixirBB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year they turn sixteen is the beginning of the end. </p>
<p>Or the end of the beginning. </p>
<p>No one quite knows what happened or how it happened, just that it did. </p>
<p>(Never underestimate youths who have revenge on their minds and each other painted in their hearts.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Outside the world seems a violent place (but you had to have him, so you did)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the rabbit hole guys. It'll be a dozy.

The year they turn sixteen is the beginning of the end.

 

Or the end of the beginning.

 

No one quite knows what happened or how it happened, just that it did.

 

(Never underestimate youths who have revenge on their minds and each other painted in their hearts.)

* * *

She meets him on the roof of an abandoned building in the alley behind the bazaar. She’s young and tired of Evie talking about Princes and how ‘ _one day I’ll get my Prince Charming and he’ll sweep me off my feet. You’ll see, Mal. I’ll be happy._ ’ And Mal is evil, but she’s not evil enough to tell Evie that _no one_ , let alone a _Prince_ will want her, them, any of them.

 

So, when Evie isn’t looking and instead, is trying to talk to George, Gaston’s son who is already surpassing his dad in brawn, Mal slips away, her short legs taking her across torn down houses, people worn down by the hard life they live (the hard life they all live, the life they were banished to) and she crawls up ladders and balances herself on ledges until she’s atop a roof that overlooks the Isle of the Lost and straight at the United States of Auradon.

 

She feels a hatred that rips through her very soul when she looks at how bright and sunny it is. She can just imagine how happy they all are, a land full of princes and princesses and everyone is _so_ happy and grateful, well fed and _lacks for nothing_. She thinks of children who have never known hardship and she wants to make them pay for everything they’ve done and everything they will never do.

 

(Free me. Free us.)

 

“Planning your escape, little one?” A voice calls out from the shadows.

 

Mal would have jumped, had she wanted to give whoever it was the satisfaction of seeing her shocked. Instead, she steadies her heart and whips her head towards the sound, eyes glowing green for a moment. “Show yourself.” She snaps, her voice hard with practice. (She stands in front of a mirror in the dark of the night, a piece of wood as her specter and imitates her mother, trying to emulate her and Mal vows that one day, she’ll surpass her and no longer will Maleficent be the name most feared, but hers, _Mal_.)

 

“Bossy.” The voice replies and she can tell there’s a smile on his face before she even sees him. He walks out of the shadows, clad in black and red leather, hair reaching his shoulders. “I like it.”

 

She knows this boy. She’s seen him around, has seen how he can walk into a room full of trinkets and walk out with half of them tucked into pockets (and she sees how his eyes immediately seek out a lamp and she watches as he rubs it and sees the lidded anguish when no genie appears). She knows who his father is (Jafar), but she’s never actually met him. Never actually spoken to him, has never seen the need to, not when she has Evie.

 

“I don’t care what you like.” She responds haughtily.

 

He laughs and it sounds like bells and then suddenly, he’s behind her, his hands ghosting over her shoulders and his lips next to her ear, his breath sending invisible shivers down her spine. “Sure you do, little one.”

 

“Mal.” She says and she’s proud how her voice doesn’t falter despite her fingernails digging crescent shapes in the palm of her hands. “My name is Mal.”

 

“I know.” He tells and he swings around, sitting next to her, legs dangling from the ledge and taking out his latest pickings. She watches him with veiled interest. He doesn’t say anything afterwards, just examines his treasures and gives her half-lidded smiles. (His eyes are brown and his smiles never reach them.)

 

When he’s done, he leans backwards and stares into the distance at Auradon. “You ever wish you could go there?” He asks her after what feels like a lifetime of silence. (It’s fine, she thinks, she rarely ever gets silence at home, always the recipient of her mother’s rants and tirades.)

 

She feels that familiar hatred, the familiar rage bubbling inside of her and she answers him honestly, “only to watch it burn from the inside out.”

 

He doesn’t seem shocked, instead he seems almost proud and he laughs, leaning into her until his shoulder is pressed against hers and he’s close, (so, so close), “make sure I’m there to see you take the throne, little one.”

 

She allows herself a little smile as she imagines herself on the throne, crown on her head and a kingdom on its knees.

 

(Queen Mal the Malicious, it’s got a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?)

* * *

 

Long after the sun has set and Auradon still glows in its never-ending light, they make their way down the ladder and over ledges until they run by torn down houses and worn down people. “What’s your name?” She asks him, out of breath and feeling exhilarated, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

 

“Jay.” He tells her, tucking a loose piece of hair behind his ear. “My name is Jay.”

 

“I could always use your skills.” She tells him innocently, pouting her lips and eyes blown wide. “You see, my friend Evie and I have a plan for world domination.” Well, Mal has a plan for world domination, Evie just wants a Prince. (Evie is a work in progress, but she’s Mal’s work in progress.)

 

“Where I go, Carlos goes.”

 

“Carlos?”

 

Jay nods, “Carlos de Vil.”

 

Mal smirks, _well, mother, won’t you be so proud_ , “the more the merrier.”

 

“See you later, Mal.” He says and then he’s off, disappearing into the shadows until she’s can’t see him anymore, all she hears are the disgruntled yells when his victims realize their belongings are missing. 

* * *

 

Carlos de Vil turns out to be a little bit broken and wounded from his mother’s sharp hand and psychological mind games.

 

Mal can see how protective Jay is of Carlos, even though he hides it with teases and taunts, she knows that one wrong move on Carlos and Jay is likely to cut the hand off the one who hurts him (this is what the Isle of the Lost is made of, people who steal, cheat and plunder but also of those who stick together when one of them is hurt. They’re a family, if only thrown together by virtue of their bloodlines.)

 

Mal likes that. She feels the same protective nature towards Evie.

 

Evie, for her part, is thrilled with two newcomers.

 

“We’re just like a family, now!” Evie exclaims, her hands reaching out for Carlos, who reaches back hesitantly and then his face blossoms into a smile when Evie clasps his hands in hers and grips them tightly, never letting go.

 

She looks over Evie and Carlos’ heads and catches Jay’s eyes. He’s staring at her with an intense gaze and she’s not quite sure what to make of it, just that she never wants him to stop.

* * *

As the years go by, they become more hardened. The hate fills their heart more and more as Auradon continues to shine brightly, a beacon they will never reach.

 

Mal schemes ways to get their parents approval and the rest follow her, despite their reservations. They’re up at all hours of the night, perfecting their plans and Mal thinks this could _work_ ; _this could really work_ , when they finally disperse to go home, agreeing to meet back at lunch the next day.

 

Except, when the next day arrives and Mal arrives, only to find Evie and Jay huddled around a cowering Carlos, who has a pack of ice on his face, Mal’s rage boils to the surface as she feels her heart drop into her stomach.

 

“What the fuck happened?” It’s the first time she curses (it’s the first time any of them curse, but it doesn’t phase them).

 

Evie scrambles up and pulls at her arm. “Do you know what today is?” She asks quietly.

 

“Sunday.” Mal responds, her eyes never leaving Carlos or his bruised eye and she catches sight of dried blood on his neck in the shape of nail marks and she looks at his eyes, wild and crazed, body twitching in fear and her chest collapses all over again, the pain insurmountable, because it’s _Carlos_. He can be just as evil when he wants to be, but there is a certain child-like innocence to him that reminds Mal of Evie.

 

“It’s Mother’s Day.” She replies.

 

“ _So_?” Mal snaps. She _knows_ it’s Mother’s Day and just like every Mother’s Day, her mother _isn’t here_. They don’t celebrate Mother’s Day because it’s not like their mother’s are entirely grateful to have spawned them for any other purpose then to perpetuate evil and disgrace (which apparently, they’re failing in.)

 

“So…” Evie drawls out, glancing back at Carlos who shuffles closer to Jay as Jay talks to him in a low voice, “Carlos forgot and didn’t get his mother a gift and Cruella…well, she wasn’t entirely too happy about being forgotten.”

 

Mal feels sick to her stomach. But underneath the sudden nausea, there is still her simmering rage. Because despite her mother’s reputation, Maleficent has _never_ laid a hand on her daughter and neither has the Evil Queen to Evie. “ _She_ did this to him?” Mal asks, her voice breaking, until she takes a deep breath and steadies herself. She can feel Evie nod without even looking at her.

 

She stares and stares at Carlos as he listens to what Jay is saying, not able to hear what is being said between the two boys. She watches as slowly, but surely, Carlos starts to relax, body unwinding in trust and safety. She remembers Carlos’ face every time they leave to go home and she remembers seeing Jay and Carlos leave together and arrive together and when Carlos isn’t with Jay than he’s with Evie. A little piece of her thinks that _this is her fault_. If she didn’t keep them so late the night before than he could have went home sooner and remembered this God-forsaken day and may have had the time to create a present to please his mother. But instead, she kept them until the early hours of the morning, when Carlos was dead on his feet.

 

He looks up and in that moment makes eye contact with her and gives her a small smile and a little wave and the pain in her chest intensifies, until she growls and turns around, stomping into the street.

 

“Where are you going, Mal?” Jay asks as he appears beside her.

 

“I’m going to skin Cruella de Vil the way she was never able to do to those Dalmatians.”

 

“Do you know where he lives?” He asks her.

 

No, she concedes, she doesn’t. Carlos has never invited them over to his house, instead, always going to theirs. “I’ll find it.”

 

“I’ll show you.” Jay offers. “Personally, I think it’s about time Cruella gets a dose of her own medicine and who better than the daughter of Maleficent?”

 

“Evie knows to stay with Carlos?” Mal wants to make sure because she doesn’t want anything more to happen to Carlos and she most certainly doesn’t want anything to happen to Evie.

 

“Evie is taking him to her place.”

 

“Good.” Mal says, turning her head to look at Jay. “Lead the way.”

 

She thinks it’s the way their faces are set in stone, murderous intent showing, and the way they walk, determined and synchronized, that makes people jump out of their way.

* * *

She slams on the door and doesn’t step back when it’s ripped open and she’s face-to-face with a woman, hair half white, half black with Carlos’ eyes and chin. Mal growls and forces her way into the house, Jay falling in behind her, shutting the door gently. “You don’t know me,” Mal starts, “but you will.”

 

“Well,” Cruella says, her eyes staring down at Mal, “if it isn’t the daughter of Maleficent and the son of Resident Thief. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

 

“You will never touch a hair on Carlos’ head again, do you understand me?”

 

Cruella’s eyes harden, “who do you think you are, telling me what to do with my child?”

 

Mal smiles and it’s a vicious sort of smile, one that she never even had to practice but was just always present. “My name is Mal and if you think you’re the only one who knows how to torture someone, think again.”

 

(Jay doesn’t say anything the entire time and she can see, through a broken mirror hanging lopsidedly on the wall, the shadow of a grin as Cruella breaks down into hysteric sobs blubbering promises that she will never touch a hair on Carlos’ head again.) 

* * *

 

They close the door; effectively cutting off Cruella’s ugly sobs and Mal shakes off her hand, not even grimacing at the dried blood across her knuckles.

 

“You’ve got a mean left hook, little one.” Jay says as they walk towards Evie’s house.

 

“I hate that name.” She tells him, as she takes the lead and walks in front of him.

 

“No, you don’t.” He calls out.

 

(No, no, she doesn’t.) 

* * *

 

“She’ll never lay a hand on you again.” Mal tells Carlos quietly as Evie ushers them into her room and grabs Mal’s hand, gently pressing and feeling around, only leaving her side to get ice and gauze.

 

“What did you do?” Carlos asks.

 

Mal blinks and shrugs. “I made sure she remembers who I am and what I’m capable of doing.”

 

“You didn’t have to do this.” Carlos says, his eyes never leaving Mal’s hand, even as Evie starts wrapping it.

 

“We’re family, Carlos.” Mal says firmly, ignoring how Evie’s head snaps up and how a smile so large and brighter than how Auradon shines graces her face and ignores how Jay smirks at her, eyes staring at her as if he’s reading her soul. Instead, she focuses on Carlos who’s blinking back tears but instead coughs and lifts his head high. “I’ll kill whoever hurts my family.”

 

“We all will.” Jay promises.

 

“Because we’re family.” Evie whispers, her index finger caressing Mal’s knuckles and something catches in Mal’s throat as she looks at the three other people in the room.

 

Carlos nods, “Family.” 

* * *

 

The day after Mal’s visit to Cruella, she wakes up before the sun and can’t fall back asleep. So, she gets out of bed, slips into her clothes and makes her way out of the house, careful not to wake her mother.

 

She makes her way by torn down houses and worn down people and crawls up a ladder and across ledges as she hefts herself onto the roof of her favorite building. Auradon still shines brightly and Mal finds that she can’t take her eyes off of it.

 

“Still want to watch it burn from the inside out?” Jay calls out as he makes his way out of the shadows. “Pretty early for you to be out here.”

 

“I could say the same to you.” Mal replies.

 

“Why are you here?” He asks her as he settles next to her, sitting too closely.

 

And even though the air is cool, she finds herself burning hot. “Couldn’t sleep.” She answers. “You?”

 

“Couldn’t sleep.” He parrots back.

 

They sit together in silence when she feels him shuffle and take a deep breath. “Here.” He says as he reaches over to her and holds out a fingerless leather glove with silver studs at the end.

 

“What is this?” She asks, not taking it. She feels her throat close up. No one has ever given her anything before. No one.

 

“It’s for your hand. It won’t stop damage, the next time you decide to rearrange someone’s face but at least it’ll cover it.” He shrugs, “besides, it’d look pretty badass on you.”

 

She still doesn’t take it, body gone into shock. Jay rolls his eyes and grabs her hand with surprising gentleness and she watches as his fingers smooth over the wrap on her hand, fingertips tracing every callous on her hand until he tugs the fingerless glove over her hand. “There.” He says, voice huskier and deeper than normal, his lips so close (so, so close) to hers that she can feel and smell his breath. She finds her lips making the same shape as the words leaving his mouth, just begging for him to press them to hers. “Pretty badass, if I say so myself.”

 

He leans forward and for a terrifying second, Mal thinks she’s going to throw up, but the feeling goes away when he presses his forehead to hers. “You never did answer my question.”

 

“What question?” She asks.

 

“Do you still want to watch Auradon burn from the inside out?”

 

“I want to be the one to set it aflame.”

 

He laughs gently, breath puffing in her face, hands coming up to cradle her cheeks and it’s only then that she notices the black fingerless leather cover his left hand and she thinks they match (like a Queen and her King). “My little one breathing fire like the dragon she is. It’s poetic, when you think about it.”

 

“It’s revenge.”

 

“That too.” He responds and then they don’t say anything and he steals whatever she was going to say next when his lips press against hers, one hand sneaking behind her neck and the other roving down her side, to grab hold of her hip.

 

She wraps her arms around his shoulders, pressing herself tightly to him until she doesn’t know where he begins and she ends.

 

(It doesn’t matter, because when his tongue touches hers, she explodes brighter than any dragon-fire.) 

* * *

 

When they turn sixteen, Hank, a descendant of Captain Hook starts to notice her. He makes excuses to touch her and she’s threatened to break his fingers. He laughs, calls her ‘spunky’ and tries to kiss her.

 

Jay comes out of nowhere and punches him in the face. Carlos and Evie staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.

 

Mal won’t lie, she thinks the way Jay fights is extremely sexy and her breath catches when he looks at her, eyes wild and filled with promise of him and her and _only_ him and her. 

* * *

 

That same day, Dawn, Drusella’s daughter, trails her fingers down Jay’s chest in appreciation of his physique.

 

Evie doesn’t even have time to hold her down before she’s yanking Dawn by her hair and hitting her across the face, backing her up against the wall with her hand around her throat. Evie is the one who pulls her away, arms around her waist and breath heaving in Mal’s ear.

 

Dawn laughs shrilly, “I _knew_ it!” She cackles, blood dripping down and staining her mouth and teeth red. “I always knew there was something off with you four.”

 

“Shut your mouth, Dawn.” Evie snaps. Mal isn’t surprised, because she knows Evie better than anyone and she knows that Evie, when pressed is _pure_ evil packaged in blue and all of five feet.

 

“What are you going to do, Evie? Poison me with an apple?”

 

“Open your mouth again and you’ll see _exactly_ what I’m capable of doing.”

 

“Open your mouth again,” Carlos says as he and Jay step closer to them until they’re all side-by-side, faces fierce and bodies ready for a fight, “and you _all_ will see what we’re capable of doing.”

 

“You’re nothing but has-beens.” Dawn says, her voice hard and vicious, eyes scanning the collecting crowd of youth.

 

“Look around you Dawn,” Jay says, “we’re all children of has-beens.”

 

“This,” Mal continues, arms swinging around, gesturing to their surroundings, “is what we’ve been reduced to. This is what we’ve been condemned to! You think I want to be here? You think that we _deserve_ to be here? We’re children and descendants of the world’s greatest villains and these fucking do-gooders and princes and princesses were so terrified of us that they banished our parents to this God-forsaken island with _nothing_! And it’s about time we take back who we are.” She steps on a chair and makes sure all eyes are on her and she watches without hesitation as Evie, Carlos and Jay grab chairs and stand on them next to her, “we are rotten to the core and it’s about time we remind the world _why_.”

 

“How are you going to do that?” A voice asks from the back.

 

Mal recognizes the voice, as Cora, the great granddaughter of the Queen of Hearts. “We’re going to find a way into Auradon and we’re going to burn it down. We’re going to reclaim what is ours and have our revenge on everyone who fucked us over. We are _not_ our parents.”

 

“No,” Carlos interrupts, “we’re better.”

 

“And we’ll do what they weren’t able to do.” Continues Evie.

 

“We’ll rule the world.”

 

“Burn it down!” Cora yells after a moment of silence.

 

And then the hall erupts with cheers of ‘ _Long Live Evil_ ’ and ‘ _Evil Lives.’_

 

(Mal meets the gaze of Evie and Carlos, leaving Jay for last.) 

* * *

 

“You punched Hank in the face.” Mal moans out as Jay peppers kisses across her collarbone, his hands pulling her shirt out of her pants and pressing against her bare skin.

 

“You almost killed Dawn.” He replies, lifting his head and pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips. “Have I ever told you how fucking beautiful you are when you’re ready to kill someone?”

 

She rolls her eyes and presses her lips to his, hard enough to bruise.

 

They don’t talk for a while afterwards, just kiss and touch, until Mal is squirming against him, his cock hard and trapped between them. “Jay.” She breathes as she runs her hands down his back. “Jay, please.”

 

“Please what?” He teases her.

 

“I want you.”

 

She can see the way his pupils dilate and she thinks that they should have done this sooner. 

* * *

 

She’s thankful that her mother is gone for the next few days because the sounds Mal is making are fucking sinful. The things Jay is doing with his fingers are fucking sinful and she grasps her blankets and yanks on them as he presses another finger inside of her, lips sucking at every available skin surface, leaving angry red marks on her pale skin.

 

She gasps, arching her back as her body starts hurtling towards something she’s never experienced before. “Jay. God. Jay. Oh.”

 

And just like that, he’s left her bereft and she almost snaps his neck. He chuckles and leans forward, searching through his discarded pants until he comes back up with a square foil and her face flushes.

 

“It’ll be worth it.” He tells her, kissing her on the nose and then the lip as he rips open the package and rolls on the condom. “Mal…?” He lets the question die on his lips.

 

She nods quickly, “do it.”

 

She sees him take a deep breath and then watches as his hand disappears between them and a moment later she feels his cock press against her as he slowly slides in.

 

No one ever mentions the sounds of sex. It’s obscene and somewhat uncomfortable and-Mal stops thinking and all she registers is pain. She lets out a curse and Jay presses forward, stealing her sharp cry with a kiss and he’s murmuring his apologies and proclamations against her lips. After a minute he moves and it still hurts and it’s uncomfortable and she can feel tears prick her eyes but a little more movement on his part and she’s moving back and while the pain is still present, she’s able to feel some pleasure and now she knows what the big deal about sex is. And God, the way Jay feels against her, the way his chest rubs against her erect nipples and the way his skin is sweaty and sticking to her makes her moan aloud. The way he presses into her, his cock reaching into the deepest part of her that no one has ever touched before, makes her lose any semblance of composure.

 

He starts losing his composure and Mal presses against him eagerly, trying to find that completion that escaped her the first time. Jay understands (he always understands) and he presses his fingers to her again and Mal explodes, back arching, moans that sound like sobs falling from her lips as she feels him ride her through her wave of pleasure. In her haze, she sees him above her, bent backwards, his mouth open in a _O_ shape as his hips stutter and he follows her into bliss, gently falling atop of her.

 

Mal wraps herself around him and silently promises never to let go. 

* * *

 

It’s early in the morning; the sun is just starting to rise, bathing the room in hues of orange and pink. Mal can feel it against her back and she can almost see the light shining through Jay’s eyes but instead, just concentrates on how his hands are trailing up her sides and between her thighs and the way his heart is pounding under her hands and God, why does no one tell her how awe-inspiring, life-changing and fucking altering having sex can be?

 

(But it’s not just sex, the darkest part of her mind whispers to her, it’s Jay. Jay. _JayJayJay_.)

 

She throws her head back, purple hair sticking to her neck and cheeks and she cries out, bending down and swallowing Jay’s grunt with a kiss. She places her forehead against his and pants, exchanging breaths and trying to gain control of her mind as it reels back in from spiraling out of control with pleasure.

 

Jay drops his head and places kisses over her neck, collarbone and shoulders, muttering soft words that Mal doesn’t quite catch until he looks up at her with hooded eyes and whispers softly into her skin, “my queen.”

 

(Her breath catches and her chest explodes.) 

* * *

 

Evie stays silent for a moment before she double over and laughs. Her blue hair covers her face and she snorts, trying to gain her breath. “I knew it.” Evie gasps out, tears running down her face. “I fucking knew it.”

 

“Why are you laughing?” Mal demands to know.

 

Evie shakes her head and dabs at her face with a washcloth, leaving her spot on the bed and making her way to her cracked vanity. She pushes her hair back, grabs her concealer and reapplies her make-up. “I’m just surprised it took you two this long, really.”

_“What?”_

 

Evie rolls her eyes, “Mal, Carlos and I both knew that there was something going on between you and Jay. He’s the King to your Queen.”

 

Mal is quiet, looking out the window to Auradon and the barrier. She turns back to look at Evie when she notices that Evie is staring at her through the mirror. There is no judgment, no hurt, no betrayal in her eyes and Mal is left wondering if she imagined it all. “You’re not angry?”

 

Evie smiles softly, “Mal, I love you. I will always love you but I think part of you loves Jay more.”

 

Mal gets up and sits next to Evie, watching as she carefully applies her make-up. She puts her chin on her shoulder and Evie automatically leans into the embrace. “There is no one I love more than you.”

 

Evie chuckles softly, “oh, I know that. I’m just saying that I don’t mind sharing your heart with the boys.”

 

( _You don’t share it_ , Mal wants to say, _you three own it.)_  

* * *

 

It’s almost as if they can’t keep their hands off of each other. Especially, in the dead of the night, when her mother isn’t home or when his father isn’t home or when their parents are making their own schemes for world domination, unaware that their children are doing the same, more determined to beat them at the game they failed so long ago.

 

She has her head propped on his chest and his hands are trailing up and down her back, tracing her ribs and shadow shapes.

 

“Hey Mal?”

 

“Mhmm.” She answers, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiarity of his scent.

 

“You think we can do this?”

 

She doesn’t have to guess or ask for clarification. She knows what he’s talking about. It’s what they _always_ talk about. Their plans are just that, _plans_ , it’s putting them in motion that’s difficult. They’re getting restless and she can tell the others are getting restless too. “We have to do this.” She says, “We don’t have a choice to fail.”

 

“I got you something.” He says, his face lighting up, changing the subject. He moves to get up and Mal groans, rolling over to other side of the bed and lying down on her stomach, arms under the pillow, head turned to face him as he rummages through his drawers.

 

She’s not able to see what’s in his hands as he puts them behind his back. At his behest, she gets on her knees and shuffles towards the edge of the bed. She watches as he takes a breath, eyes suddenly drawn and looking entirely too vulnerable. “I saw it and thought of you.” He starts, as he pulls out a necklace with a bright red ruby gem hanging off the gold chain. “I figured a Queen has to have her jewelry and I know you don’t have any and-”

 

She cuts him off with a kiss, arms thrown around his neck and lips pressed tightly to his, pouring out all of her feelings she has never been able to express into it. His arms go around her waist (and it’s scary, how instinctive their embrace is, how perfect he feels against her and how she fits against him). “I love it.” She tells him and she turns around, taking a fistful of her hair and exposing her neck to him.

 

She feels the cool metal against her skin as he clasps it and she shivers, half from the cold and half from the feelings that are threatening to choke her. She turns back around and tucks herself into his arms, pulling him down on the bed. “We’re going to do this.” She says determinedly, “you, me, Evie and Carlos. We’re going to be kings and queens and nothing will stop us.”

 

“Nothing.” He repeats.

 

(They seal it with a kiss.)

* * *

 

The next day her mother tells them that they’re being sent to Auradon Prep as some sort of rehabilitation exercise.

 

They’re in the limo when Carlos, his mouth lined with melted chocolate, says, “So, this turned out well.”

 

Mal smiles, fingers tracing her necklace. “It’ll be easy from here.”

 

“How do you know?” Evie asks, fiddling with her skirt.

 

“Have I ever been wrong? This is it. This is the beginning of the rest of our lives.”

 

“Together.” Jay says, popping some colorful candy in his mouth.

 

“Together.” They repeat.

 

(Together is all they have.)

 


	2. You could be king (but watch the queen conquer)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might need a little suspension of belief or disbelief here. It's also about to get darker.

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.” Jay whispers in her ear as they make their way into Auradon Prep.

 

Mal glares at the people who stare back at her. She was right, they all were, Auradon is filled with princes and princesses who have never seen a hard day’s work in their life. And _they’re_ the ones who look at _them_ with distaste. As if they’re vermin that are polluting their perfect halls and uprooting their perfect lives. Mal wonders what the look on their faces will be once they finally take over.

 

“Yeah, well I don’t like the way you look at Audrey.” She says the name with disgust, eyes rolling, because Audrey oozes pathetic and insecurity. On the other, maybe she could have fun with her. Tear her down until there’s nothing left and the façade the other girl works so hard to keep, destroyed.

 

“You jealous, my queen?”

 

“Are you?” She counters, cocking an eyebrow at him.

 

Carlos fakes gagging. “I’m going to puke.”

 

Evie giggles and shrugs her shoulders at Mal, when Mal glares at her. “It’s funny.” Evie clears her throat and the four of them stand up straight when they walk into the foyer, only to meet the Fairy Godmother.

 

(God. They couldn’t make this easier for them even if they tried.)

* * *

 

Evie and Carlos have made themselves scarce, Evie dragging Carlos to their room, leaving Jay to Mal’s anger.

 

Mal doesn’t bother to contain it, she lets her frustration show in the way she slams the oak door shut, uncaring if the walls shake and people wake. They’re in for a rude awakening anyways. They would have had one _sooner_. Quite possibly _now_. She turns her glare to Jay who is laying on the bed, hands clasped across his stomach, eyes trained towards the ceiling and body tired, drained.

 

She feels the anger dissipate from her body. He looks young here. He looks like he did all those years ago when she first met him. “You fucked up.” She tells him, leaning against the table, arms crossed but her fingers trailing the red gem on her necklace.

 

“Yeah.” He agrees. He shrugs and tilts his head to the side, just enough so he can stare at her. “I just wanted you to have the wand.”

 

_It’s instinct_ , she thinks, the way she takes off her boots and the way she sheds her leather jacket, the purple a stark contrast to the gleaming hardwood. She toes off her socks, tugs off her pants and crawls into the space next to him. (Even without his knowledge, he always makes room for her.)

 

“It’s for us.” She reminds him quietly as she turns her body and tucks herself into his side. His body heat immediately warming her. “The wand, the power, it’s for _us._ Not just for me.”

 

She thinks about her mother and everything she told her, everything she said and even as her mother said it, Mal knows that it will never be herself and her mother. It will never be an equal share. No. At least with Jay, Evie and Carlos, Mal knows where she stands. Mal knows the love in their heart for one another. Mal has seen their heartbreak, she has watched them cry and go hungry and she will do everything in her power to right was done wrong to them.

 

_We are not our parents_ , she thinks, her hands trailing a familiar path across Jay’s body as he maneuvers himself atop of her, _we’re worse_.

 

She kisses him and silences her mind for the rest of the night.

* * *

 

The Fairy Godmother is too hopeful that they’re changing and Jane is an imbecile.

 

It’s almost too easy and Mal laughs when she realizes that it _really is this easy_.

* * *

The boys room is bigger than theirs so Mal and Evie often spend their days and nights in their room, the beds big enough to fit two to a bed. It’s no question where Mal goes and she and Evie often spend the night staring at each other from across their place in bed and whispering back and forth until Jay groans and Carlos tells them to shut-up. They’ll laugh as quietly as they can and bury themselves under their respective blankets and it feels just like home.

 

When Carlos comes bounding into their room without Jay, Mal knows something is wrong. It’s only when she hears Evie’s light shriek does she whip her head around and her eyes narrow on the small squirming and barking dog in Carlos’ arms. “Is that a _dog_?”

 

Carlos nods eagerly. “They aren’t rabid beasts like mom said!” He says it like it’s a revelation and Mal barely has time to comprehend that he thinks this is the _first thing his mother has ever lied to him about._

 

“Color me surprised that your mother lied.” Mal mutters, sticking her tongue out at Carlos when he crosses his eyes at her.

 

“He’s so cute!” Evie is imitating a high-pitched voice that’s laced with sugar sweetness and Mal wants to vomit. She’s heard that type of voice. It litters the hallways of Auradon Prep. “What’s his name?”

 

“Dude.”

 

Evie blinks and Mal snorts. “Did you name him?”

 

Carlos shakes his head. “No, it’s the school dog.”

 

Mal’s legs that were propped on Evie’s desk come falling down with a thud. She can feel the vibration from under her feet as her boots make rough contact with the hardwood. Evie grimaces and continues petting the dog. _The fucking school dog_. She can practically smell and see the love and affection the dog has been given, how it curls into Carlos’ arms, as if it has any right being there. And isn’t this just the fucking funniest thing she’s ever seen? A dog that has been and likely will be treated better than they were.

 

She wants to rip into Carlos and ask him _what the hell he’s thinking_. She wants to ask him what possessed him to accept _anything_ from the people here. She wants to ask him if he’s _forgotten who he is_ , _who they are_ and the _reason they’re here_.

 

Just as she opens her mouth, Evie silences her with a glare, telling her with her eyes to _shut the fuck up_ and _don’t say a word because Carlos is finally happy_.

 

And he _is_ , Carlos is happy, sitting on the floor with Dude running laps around him, laughing as the dog licks his face. Mal still wants to vomit. “That’s nice.” She manages through gritted teeth.

 

Carlos laughs, as if knowing how difficult this is for Mal (he does and the little bastard enjoys watching her squirm.) “Thanks Mal.”

 

Her eyes glance towards the door and frowns when she realizes that Jay still hasn’t come through the door yet, huffing and puffing from their first practice. “Where’s Jay?”

 

Carlos looks up at her and his eyes immediately cloud over, biting his lip. “Well,” he starts, letting one of his hands fall to the side as Dude licks at his fingers and the other hand running through his hair. “Coach took Jay aside and was helping him practice. He’s helping him with team building or something like that. Ben was helping me when Dude started chasing me and the rest is history.”

 

Mal blinks. “ _Team building_?”

 

Carlos nods slowly, as if realizing he’d given something away. “The team. We made the team and the coach is helping Jay become part of the team.”

 

Mal gets up, hands curled into fists and body shaking with barely restrained anger. The _team_. The _fucking team_. It’s one thing to practice, because Mal knew they were forced, it’s another entire thing to _willingly_ spend more time than necessary to become part of the _fucking team_ with the people they despise and _not tell her about it._ She stomps across the room and yanks the door open, letting it slam against the wall and hearing it swing back as soon as she steps over the threshold.

 

“…I thought she knew.” Carlos’ voice sneaks out.

 

“Jay didn’t say anything.” Evie replies, before their voices are silenced by the closing of the door.

 

_He didn’t tell me a fucking thing_ , Mal repeats over and over again in her mind.

 

(The darkest voice in the darkest part of her mind says cruelly, _are you that surprised?)_  

* * *

 

She sees Audrey standing in front of Jay’s door with Jay standing in the threshold, leaning against it with a lazy smile on his face.

 

The anger that was simmering underneath the surface comes boiling over, and she wants to rip Audrey’s hair out of her head and then watch her as she burns in dragon-fire. _God_. It’s not the first time since she’s comes to Auradon Prep that she wishes her mother made good on her threat and destroyed that fucking family long ago.

 

_But no_ , Mal thinks, _instead you failed Mother. And I will succeed where you didn’t._

 

She steps between them, cutting off their conversation. “Leave.” Mal tells Audrey.

 

“Excuse me?” Audrey acts indignant; her voice shrill with offense and Mal briefly wonders how her screams will sound like.

 

“I said,” Mal repeats, tapping her feet and rolling her eyes at the fucking stupidity of these people, “leave. Or are you just stupid? Do you _not_ comprehend what I’m saying?”

 

“Mal.” Jay says without finishing. She can almost feel his hands hovering over the small of her back.

 

Mal turns around, putting her palms on his chest and pushing him back into the room. She turns back around and shoots Audrey a fake smile. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to talk to Jay. Friend-to-friend.” She doesn’t bother waiting for Audrey to answer, instead shutting the door in her face, hoping that it breaks her fucking nose.

 

Jay just laughs at her when she stalks towards him. “Jealous much?”

 

“Congratulations on making the fucking team, Jay.” Mal spits out.

 

The smile falls from his face and he looks uncomfortable (it’s the first time since forever that he looks uncomfortable in her presence and that hurts more than anything.) “It’s just a thing.”

 

“A _thing_?” She asks incredulously, “a _fucking thing_? That’s it, huh? Just a _thing_.”

 

“Why are you getting so worked up about it?”

 

“ _Because you already have a fucking team, Jay_!” She shrieks at him, hitting him the chest and pushing him towards the wall. “You have Carlos and Evie and me. _We’re_ a team. _Not_ Ben. _Not_ Coach and most certainly _not fucking Audrey_.” She’s breathing heavily and she can tell that her eyes are wild, hair all over the place and body shaking.

 

He grabs hold of her shoulders and turns her, pressing her against the wall. “I don’t want Audrey. She’s a joke. It’s you, Mal. Just you. _Always_ you.”

 

“Prove it.” She challenges him and she’s almost (almost, not quite) ashamed at how needy, how her voice cracks and sounds almost pleading.

 

(He presses her against the wall harder until the groves make marks on her body and he makes a permanent mark on her soul. It’s needy and desperate, mouths glued together to quiet their noises and God, _this is it_. _This_ is what she needs. _This_ is what she craves and she thinks she could live off of him and t _his_. She thinks she would abandon their plans to take over if it meant that she, Jay, Evie and Carlos could just leave somewhere no one knows them. She holds him closer, wrapping her legs around his waist and quietly sobs into his mouth as his eyes never stray from hers. _Mine_ , he whispers across her sweat-matted skin, _mine, mine. Mineminemine. My Queen_.)

* * *

 

She finds his stash of stolen lamps in one of his drawers and she looks at him from over her shoulder, eyebrow cocked and he shrugs, leaning against the headboard, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s a hard habit to kick.” He confesses. “I always think that if I find one with a genie, my father will…” He trails off, instead giving her a smile that is all heartbreak and no happiness.

 

Mal feels her throat close up as she slips on his shirt and closes the drawer, making her way to the bed and crawling into the empty spot next to him.

 

“Do you ever think about your mother?” He asks her.

 

“Not kind thoughts.” She tells him truthfully. Jay is no stranger to her rants against her mother and he knows out of everyone what Mal is willing to do to get her mother out of her life once and for all. “Is being on the team important to you?” She swallows the bile in her throat.

 

“It’s not the team so much as this is something I think I can be good at.” He looks down at her and gives her a smirk. “When we take over, let’s create some blood sports. That’ll be fun.”

 

Mal lets out a bark of laughter before muffling it with the blankets, a weight lifting from her chest at his words. She curls into him more, folding her legs between his, intertwining their bodies until she doesn’t know where he begins and she ends. “When we take over, I’ll bring you all the lamps in the world.” She promises him.

* * *

 

“You didn’t think to tell me this sooner?” Mal asks as Evie tells her about the coronation.

 

“Well,” Carlos says, his hands running through Dude’s fur. Mal scrunches her nose. She’s still not too fond of the dog, of animals in general, but he makes Carlos happy and Mal shuts her mouth, “realistically, how would you even be invited to the front row?”

 

“I’d find a way.” Mal tells him.

 

Carlos gives her half a smile and Evie is flipping through a chemistry book nonchalantly. Mal frowns, _right_. She needs to talk to Evie about this because frankly, Mal is sick and tired of seeing fucking Chad Charming use her friend and she’s sick and tired of watching Evie spend all night with her head in a book that doesn’t belong to her and doing homework that isn’t even hers. (She thinks Chad could have been great at being evil if his parents weren’t who they are.)

 

Her musings are interrupted by a knock on the door and she marches the short way to the door and yanks it open. She stops short, seeing the Ben the Prince, the to-be King on the other side. She still wants to snarl at him. She’s not stupid. She sees the way he looks at her and decidedly not at his girlfriend Audrey and as much as she likes getting under Audrey’s skin, taking her sloppy seconds is _not_ something that Mal wants _or_ needs.

 

“Can we help you?” She can tell that Jay stands to attention when he sees it’s Ben at the door and she knows his hatred of Ben still hasn’t wavered. In fact, it’s Jay who reminds her of the way Ben looks at her. It’s Carlos who glances worriedly at her and Evie who cocks her head and stares at her, _asking are you okay? Do you need anything?_

 

They say _we_ and _us_ to let everyone else know that it will always be _them_ versus _the rest of the world._

 

“I was just checking in on you guys.” He says and Mal can tell that he looks a bit confused as to why she and Evie are in Jay and Carlos’ room. “Just wanted to see if you needed anything.”

 

“No.” Mal says shortly. She can hear Jay snort behind her and Evie choke back a sigh.

 

Evie’s words come rushing back at her. “Wait!” Mal calls out. “Is it true we’re going to be attending your coronation?”

 

“The whole kingdom is invited.” Ben actually looks excited for it and Mal almost (almost, but not quite) feels bad for him.

 

“Any chance we can be…you know…front row?” She bats her eyelashes and hates every single minute of it.

 

He laughs and looks at her with kind eyes that she wants to gouge out. “I’m sorry. Only my parents, the Fairy Godmother and my girlfriend are allowed in the front.”

 

Oh. _Oh_. _Of course_. Mal’s inside twists as her mind races. “Really. How interesting. Okay, bye!” Without letting him finish, she slams the door in his face and leans against it, brows scrunched and hands balled into fists as she racks her brain to find _something other than this_.

 

Evie gets up quickly, her chair toppling over and uncaring at the sound it makes (they were born to make noise, they were born to shake things up). “What’s wrong?”

 

“Give me my book.” Mal says and catches it when Carlos throws it at her.

 

She’s rummaging through it, eyes trying to find the spell she gave a cursory glance to earlier that day, huffing and rolling her eyes as Evie gushed about the possibilities.

 

“What are you looking for?” Jay asks, his voice doesn’t betray anything but it makes Mal look up nonetheless. She _knows_ that _he knows_ what she’s thinking before she even has to voice it.

 

“A love spell.”

 

Jay’s eyes close, Evie bows her head and Carlos stares at her as if asking ‘ _have we really come to this?’_

 

And the thing is, they’ve come _this_ far, they’re _so close_ that Mal can almost taste it, so yes, she will do everything possible. Even if it means putting up with the personification of Goodness.

 

And Audrey’s sloppy seconds.

 

_Fuck_.

* * *

 

Lonnie is annoying and Mal’s itching to snap her neck when she gushes about mother’s love and warm chocolate chip cookies. She almost wants to tell her that Carlos’ mother used to beat and torture him until Mal did the exact same thing to her. She wants to tell Lonnie that Evie’s mother only uses her as a fucking potential breeding bag. She wants to tell her that Jay doesn’t even have a mother and she wants to tell her that her mother has groomed her to be the epitome of evil. She wants to tell her that they were trained to become the epitome of evil. That she has become the epitome of evil. Mal will surpass her mother and she will do it with a twisted smile on her face and her three partners by her side.

 

They know the love of each other, but they do not and will not know parental love.

 

But at this moment, Mal has never been so thankful for the sob story of their life that apparently was so heartbreaking it makes Lonnie genuinely cry.

 

(People are so sensitive in Auradon.)

* * *

Jay scores the winning goal, which isn’t a surprise.

 

The spell works, which _also_ , isn’t a surprise, because _hello_? She’s _Mal_ and she’s the best at what she does. However, the spell works a bit too well because Ben is attempting to serenade her and asking her to the coronation in front of everyone and she forces a smile and forces herself not to look at Jay as she responds affirmatively in the most perky voice she has, which isn’t perky at all and sounds like she’s a dying cat.

 

And then Audrey announces that she’s going with Chad and Mal knows there’s a special place reserved for Audrey and Chad in hell. (And she knows this because Helen, Hades and Persephone’s daughter is eager to get her hands on more souls to damn in the River of the Weeping.)

 

She doesn’t have time to pay attention to Ben or Jay as they celebrate. Instead, she puts her arm around Evie and tells her that she’s _better_ than Chad and she’s a _hundred_ times better than Audrey. Because where Audrey is shallow and lives off her family name, Evie has made a name for herself. Audrey may be a princess through birth, but Evie will be Queen.

 

Evie smiles, and it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, but she leans her head against Mal’s. “When we take over,” she says quietly, almost so quiet that Mal doesn’t hear, “I want to watch them burn.”

 

Mal lets out a laugh and it’s almost like a cackle that gets the attention of those around her. “That will definitely be arranged.” 

* * *

 

If she were that gullible, she could find herself falling for Ben. He has the looks. The blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples. He’s the type of guy an evil girl could go good for.

 

But Mal is not just a typical evil girl. And honestly, blonde hair and blue eyes, just don’t do it for.

 

But she can’t exactly let him drown, not when they’re so close _and what idiot swims when there’s a chance of drowning_? _Right._ The same idiot that attempts to save a to-be king for her own reasons and has it turned around that she cares for him.

 

Sometimes, she wonders if the people of Auradon are really this trust-worthy or if it’s just this idiot.

 

(And God help Auradon, if he actually succeeds in getting the crown. Because who would trust a boy with a kingdom, when his first proclamation was to give the children of the worst villains a second chance at a life that was never theirs?) 

* * *

 

They don’t know how to swim but in the dark of the night, she grabs Evie, Carlos and Jay and sneaks back through the familiar paths to the river. The moon shines brightly and the water looks black and ominous. Mal knew it would be more inviting at night.

 

“This is where he took you for your first date?” Evie asks, a grin making its way to her face. “How romantic!”

 

Carlos shucks off his shoes and dips his feet in the water. “It’s warm!” He calls out, his voice echoing in the night. Evie follows him and sits on the ledge, their feet splashing in the water and giggling.

 

She looks to the side and notices Jay lingering on a pillar, his eyes staring at the night sky. She makes her way to him and wraps her arms around his waist. “You good?”

 

He nods, still not saying anything. “You good?”

 

She nods.

 

“We’re great.” Evie calls out teasingly. “Come and join us!”

 

Mal and Jay take off their boots and socks, rolling up their pants and takes their seat next to Evie, talking about everything and nothing, the sounds of their laughter echoing in the night with the moon and stars as their only witness.

* * *

 

“When we take over,” Carlos speaks up, tying his laces, “let’s keep this place. Just for us.”

 

“Just for us.” Mal promises. 

* * *

 

She won’t lie, there are times when she thinks their hearts aren’t in it anymore. There are times where she wakes up at night, terrified that she will have to do this alone. There are times when the thought of not having them by her side causes her so much physical pain, she wishes she could die.

 

She doesn’t ever ask them about their resolution in their plan. She never questions their loyalty to each other because she’s terrified that if she pulls on that thread, everything she knows and love will come apart, so she says nothing and instead lets their actions and words speak for them.

 

She sees the love Carlos has for Dude. She sees the way Evie is falling for Doug and she sees the way Jay feels like he’s part of a team, part of a family he never had and she wants to scream that _she’s their family_. She wants to remind Carlos that _she_ beat the shit out of his mother. She wants to remind Evie that before Chad and Doug, _she_ was the one that Evie loved. She wants to remind Jay that _she_ is his and he is hers and that’s how it always was and always will be.

 

(The Fairy Godmother and her pathetic excuse of a gift doesn’t make going home to their parents any better.)

 

So, there are nights where Mal loses sleep over the three people she loves most in the world. There are times when Mal does truly think that in the end it’ll only be her.

 

But then she meets Audrey’s Grandmother and shit hits the fan.

 

She has never wanted to rip someone’s throat like she wants to rip out Chad’s and she thinks, alone or not, he’s getting what’s coming to him, when he puts his hands on Evie.

 

No one puts their hands on Evie and should expect to live. No one.

* * *

Evie’s broken voice, calling out to Doug who is too cowardly to go to her, almost breaks Mal and she vows again that Auradon will burn and she will be the one to burn it.

 

Jay meets her eyes after she undoes Jane’s hair and restrains herself from doing more. “From the inside out.” He repeats her words back to her.

 

Mal nods, eyes hard and mind reeling. She glances at Evie who is absently rubbing a blooming bruise and her blood boils. She was almost (almost) going to be merciful; toying with the idea of throwing them onto an island with a barrier, just to see what excommunication feels like. Instead, she’s going to stick with her original plan, the hatred in her growing at a rapid rate that it almost (almost, but not quite) overcomes her.

 

She’s going to burn this fucking place from the inside out.

 

(And from the ashes, they will reign.) 

* * *

 

In the end, it’s Jane (poor, stupid and insecure Jane) who makes it so incredibly easy for Mal.

 

In the chaos of Jane grabbing her mother’s wand and unable to actually wield it, Mal grabs it, looks over her shoulder and sees Evie, Jay and Carlos race from their spot.

 

The crowd collectively gasps, hands going to their hearts and Mal rolls her eyes, spinning the wand between her fingertips.

 

“Give me the wand.” The Fairy Godmother says, her voice strong but it’s her eyes that betray her uneasiness.

 

“Mal,” Ben starts, making his way to her but he’s blocked. Jay’s towering in black and red, a fingerless glove against the Prince’s (once-to-be-king’s) chest and pushes him back to his parents.

 

“Don’t even fucking go there.” Jay snarls, as he steps back, taking his spot next to Mal who stands shoulder to shoulder with Evie and Carlos.

 

“I knew it!” Audrey screeches, tears running down her face. “I knew there was something off about you guys.”

 

The scene is entirely too similar but Mal doesn’t have the patience to deal with it.

 

“You are not your parents.” Ben tries again.

 

“You’re right.” Carlos says, “We’re not.”

 

“We’re nothing like our parents.” Evie agrees. “Because where our parents failed, we won’t.”

 

“We’ve lived in their shadows. We learned from their mistakes. We’re the rotten ones.” Jay adds. “We’re better than our parents and we have you to thank for that.”

 

The king thunders and roars but the four of them don’t even blink.

 

“You banished our parents to an island with nothing.” Mal says, her voice hard, “you ignored our existence for twenty fucking years and you expect us be thankful that you’ve _just_ remembered the people you sentenced to die? You expect us to be thankful over a fucking _charity project_? Has anyone in Auradon ever gone hungry? Has anyone in Auradon seen a dead body, rotting and decomposing? Has anyone in Auradon suffered?”

 

“Your parents made ours suffered!” Chad speaks, spit spewing from his mouth.

 

Evie rounds on him, “So you sentence _us_ to suffer a thousand times over?” She scoffs, “No. No. You have no idea what we’re capable of.”

 

“You should have chosen four other villains.” Carlos tells them. “Who wouldn’t have the balls to do what we’ve been planning since we were kids.”

 

“I knew you were just like her.” Audrey’s Grandmother says, stepping forward.

 

“Why, thank you!” Mal’s head whips around to see her mother leaning against her spectre. “Long time no see, your majesty. You’ve aged horribly. You should really see to your wrinkles.” She turns her eyes to Mal. “You could have done without the speech, darling. Give me the wand.”

 

Mal narrows her eyes. “No.”

 

Maleficent’s eyes harden. “ _No_?”

 

“No.” Mal repeats, her voice rising as she steps forward, her hand curling around the wand, a spell on the tip of her tongue.

 

_(“Are you sure?” Jay asks her, as she tells him what she plans to do._

_“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”_

_“You can’t take it back once it’s done.” Carlos reminds her._

_“I won’t want to take it back. If we’re going to do this, it has to be done.”_

_“It’s rule or be ruled.” Evie agrees. “Do it.”)_

 

“Wasn’t it you, mother,” Mal continues, “who said that as soon as I get my hands on the wand, that’s when our reign will begin?”

 

“ _Ours_.” Snaps Maleficent. “ _Yours_ and _mine_.”

 

“But you _knew_ , deep down that this was _never_ meant to be _yours_ and _mine_. It was always meant to be _ours_.” Mal says, pointing to Evie, Carlos and Jay who never leave her side.

 

“If you think I won’t destroy you to get the crown that rightfully belongs to me,” Maleficent says, dropping her spectre, her body contorting until a roar erupts from her and is halfway into transforming into the dragon, all black and purple with eyes glowing green, “than you’re wrong!” when Mal points the wand, flicks her wrist and watches as her mother shrinks and shrinks and shrinks until she’s a tiny little half-human, half-lizard and oh-so pathetic. _How the mighty fall,_ Mal tells herself.

 

“If _you_ think _I’m_ so weak as to not kill you. Than _you’re_ wrong.” Mal counters, her heart thudding as Jay runs and slides, grabbing the spectre and throwing it to Mal who catches with her free hand. A spell works her way through her lips, freezing her mother in place. “You taught me everything I know but do you know what I’ll always remember? I’ll always remember how to be better than you.” She grins and it’s as malicious and spiteful as she knew it was going to be. She can see everyone take a step back and it’s the fear in their eyes that fuels her adrenaline. “Be sure to tell Helen I’ll see her soon.”

 

With one hand on her spectre, the other on the wand, she utters a curse, making the Fairy Godmother gasp with horror as her mother goes up in smoke. She can feel the heat from the fire and hear the strangled and garbled shrieks of her mother, the smell of her charred flesh, both dragon and human, so revolting it causes most in the castle to vomit and scream.

 

But not Mal, Evie, Carlos or Jay. They stand resolute and side-by-side. 

* * *

 

They reach the dais, the entire castle quiet as the King, Queen, Ben and the Fairy Godmother kneel before them, bonds tying their hands and feet together. Ben and his father are struggling against their bonds but the Queen stays regal, back straight, eyes forward, as if accepting that this will be her last moment. And it _will_ be. The Fairy Godmother meanwhile stares at them with hurt and betrayal but she does nothing. She _can’t_ , because without her wand, the Fairy Godmother is _useless_.

 

(In the distance, Mal can hear Jane cry, scream and wail against the magical barrier but it won’t break. Because Mal is the best at what she does.)

 

“You know,” Mal says softly, eyes staring Ben in the face, “your father was right about one thing. This,” she gestures around her, “is all your fault.” She turns to the Fairy Godmother, “guess we failed your lesson, huh?”

 

They don’t use magic; instead they use daggers and carve out their hearts.

 

With bloodied hands, Mal grabs the wand and points it to the ceiling, “Long Live Evil!” Magic shoots from the wand and shatters the rest of the barrier to the Isle of the Lost and bridge becomes visible, connecting the two islands.

 

(In the distance, they can hear their friend’s voices as they come stomping closer and closer to Auradon, “ _Long Live Evil!” “Evil Lives!” “Burn it down!”)_

 

Mal conjures four thrones and four identical crowns and together they take a seat, four carved out hearts at their feet.

 

Jay leans in towards her and whispers in her ear, “my Queen, welcome to your kingdom.”

 

“ _Our_ kingdom.” She corrects.

 

(Because this is just the beginning.)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so so so much! It means the world to me! I hope you all liked this chapter! One more to go!


	3. Hell is empty (and all the devils are here)

The dungeons in the Castle haven't been used since the Beast put Belle's father in there that one fateful night. Mal always found that the saddest part of those stories. In between the revolutions and revelations that good supposedly conquers evil (and didn't they just blow that right out of the fucking water), the dungeons, that once put fear in the heart of many, sat unused, collecting dust, deemed to be inhumane.

They don't see it that way. In fact, they have no problem cramming people into every abandoned dungeon in the kingdom. (Population in the dungeons became a little bit of a problem and Mal had no problem in cutting off the heads of a few dozen.)

(Mal's eyes stare at the petite blonde girl, eyes red and nose puffy from crying. She recognizes her instantly, her eyes seeking Cora's over the crowd and she can see Cora's eyes narrow in recognition, stomping through the crowd, her tattered red dress, black leather jacket and chunky boots, giving her the aura of a person not to be fucked with. "Cora," Mal states, "meet Alison. I believe your mother knew hers."

Cora grins, all teeth and no sincerity, at Alison who pales and shrinks into herself. " _Please, please, please_."

"I believe you've been looking forward to this?" Mal asks Cora.

Cora's grin grows wider, she takes in a deep breath and in a loud shrill voice that echoes throughout the Castle and reaches the ears of everyone outside, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

Cheers erupt, stomping ensues and a blonde head rolls.)

She sits on her throne, crown perfectly straight on her head and knows she was meant to be here.

* * *

They've hardly seen each other since they took over, each busy with their own little rule, but they rule together, they discuss strategy and Mal knows where they all stand.

Because they may look innocent, they may be young, but they've been  _groomed_  for this. They know evil inside and out and not even Hades himself dares to question them.

Mal and Evie still share a room, not able to let each other go, when all they've known for so long is each other. Most of the times, Mal finds her way to Jay's bed, burying herself under the blanket and into him, but other times, she holds Evie and they talk into the night until their voice slur with sleep and their foreheads press against the other in a show of solidarity.

While she had plans to go to Jay that night, one look at Evie, her eyes facing the dungeon towers, back straight and tense, Mal knows that she won't be sharing Jay's bed. "Evie?" Mal asks, making her way towards her, a hand against her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Were you planning on doing anything to Doug?"

Mal frowns. Honestly, she barely spared the son of a dwarf, a thought. "I figured I'd let you deal with him."

Evie nods absentmindedly, fingers gripping her blue dress. She looks exquisite, all pale and blue, her lips a bloody red and Mal knows that Evie turns more than one head (and she knows that the only one she wants is locked in a tower of his own violation.) "He won't see me."

"You're a  _Queen_.  _Make_  him see you."

"How?" She asks, her voice broken and tears pooling in her eyes. "He won't even look at me." She takes a deep breath. "I was brought up to want a Prince. To believe that I was _worthy_  of a Prince. And now…now all I want is the son of Dopey the Dwarf. Isn't life so ironic?" She chokes on the last word and gasps for breath. "Oh god. What's happening?"

Mal wraps her arms around Evie's waist, holding her, forehead pressed against her shoulder. She rocks her back. "What do you need me to do?"

After a few minutes, Evie sniffles and wipes at her face and nose. "There's nothing we can do." She sighs, her breath stuttering and lies down on the bed. "Can you just hold me? Like we used to."

Mal nods, toeing off her boots and with her arms still wrapped around Evie's waist, she holds her until Evie falls asleep.

* * *

The night is dark, the sky starless, clouds shrouding the moon, as she walks from the castle to the dungeons. Her footsteps echo on the stone steps and she comes across Trent and the rest of the guards, all keeping watch, taunting their prisoners. He stands at attention when she stands before him, eyebrow cocked, his whip swinging by his side. "Finally wised up that I'd be a better king?" He still has a slight French accent that compliments his cockiness, but Mal silences him with a look and he stares at his shoes, the remnants of a dying grin on his lips. "Yeah, yeah, we all know that you four are indestructible. Have at 'em, your Majesty."

She walks by Trent and the others, sparing them a nod as she walks by the prisoners who wake at the sound of her boots. Some hiss at her, others start commotion by banging on the bars, only to be silenced when Trent and the others yell at them, Trent cracking his whip against the bars.

Doug shares a cell with other boys his age, most notably Chad who sports a bruised eye, busted lip and cracked nose. There is another boy she hasn't seen before but she recognizes him, she'd  _always_  recognize him, he looks more like his father than his mother. "You're Ahmed." She says, nodding her head in his direction. She gives him a sharp grin. "One day, I'm going to need something from you."

"I'm not giving you shit, you bitch."

Before Trent can whip him, Mal holds her hand up, stopping him. "Aw, that's sweet you think you have a  _choice_." She turns her head to look at Doug who looks worse for wear. "We need to talk."

He doesn't look at her and his hands tighten into fists, she's sure he doesn't know how to use.

" _Doug_." She repeats, "we're going to talk and you're going to look at me. It's about Evie."

"If it's not us singing ' _ding dong the witch is dead'_  then he obviously doesn't want to hear about it." Chad taunts, a callous smirk gracing his busted lip.

Mal reaches through the bars, her fingers tightening around his neck and yanking him into the bars, slamming his face against them and relishing in crack that reverberates against the walls. "Chad, Chad, Chad. Little Prince Chad Charming. You have  _no_  idea what we have in store for you, and if you're not careful, we'll make it worse than it already is."

"Do you honestly think you'll last?" He croaks, his face turning purple.

Mal watches as her purple nails press into his skin, breaking it and blood pooling under her fingertips. "This is a new world order, Chad. This is  _our_  new world order.  _Get used to it_. Your so-called  _goodness will persevere_  reign has come to an end and  _evil lives_. You think I'm joking?" She slams him against the bars harder and by now, the rest of them have woken. Some are howling for her to let him go, others are staring at her with fearful eyes, shrinking away from her gaze. "Look around you and  _tell me_ , we're joking. That this is all one nightmare you'll wake from. It's _not_. You are living your nightmare and we're living our dream."

He makes choking noises, hands trying to bat hers away. The more he struggles, the tighter she holds him, choking the life out of him and she gets a rush in knowing that his life is literally in her hands, all the pain she's seen in Evie comes rushing at her and she wants him to pay, she wants him to die and by her hands as comeuppance for his sins against Evie.

"Stop!" Doug cries, her eyes red with tears and his cheeks stained with dried tears and dirt. "Just stop. I'll talk to you, whatever, just don't hurt him."

Mal lets him go slowly and he stumbles away from her, Ahmed grabbing him as Chad grabs at his throat, struggling to breathe. "Witch." He croaks. "Bitch." He points a finger at her. "You're a cunt." He wheezes. "And you will die."

She blows him a kiss. "Not before you, you asshole." She turns her head to look at Trent. "I want to talk to Doug. Shackle him and bring him to the room."

Trent nods without saying anything and when Mal leaves, Trent's friends and guard's part, head bowed with reverence and respect ( _and_ , Mal thinks,  _a little bit of fear_.)

* * *

"You know," Mal starts, her fingernails tapping against the wooden table, "Evie once asked me if we could spare you."

"You didn't." Doug says.

"I was going to." Mal confesses, "but you chose to go with everyone else. You chose  _this_  when you could have had  _Evie_."

He frowns and shakes his head. "She wasn't who I thought she was."

Mal laughs and sits up straight, her eyes narrowing into slits. " _Who_  did you think she was? A misguided soul in need of a soft hand? Did you think that she was just misunderstood and once she saw everything Auradon was, she'd switch sides? Is that what you all thought of us? We were raised on the Isle of the Lost. We were the Lost Children."

"I thought she was smart and kind and loving."

"She  _is_." Mal stresses, "and she cares for  _you_. She cares enough to cry, knowing what could be and likely is happening to you here." When he doesn't say anything, Mal leans forward, elbows on the table, "Look, Doug, you still have time. You can come with me. I can take you to Evie and you can have your happily ever after that you are all so fond of. You can be happy with her and know that the Evie you thought existed  _is_  who she is. I'm giving you a chance to get out of here and never look back."

He stays silent for a few moments, his head bowed but Mal can feel her heart sinking, knowing his answer before he even utters the words. "I will not leave my friends here to die."

" _Friends_?" Mal laughs harshly, "These so-called friends, bullied you. They made fun of you. They tormented you under the guise of being good people. They ostracized you because they could and they still thought themselves to be good people. At least, we know we're rotten to the core. At least we know, we're evil and we know true friendship. We've helped keep each other alive in hard times. You all had one fight to overcome and happily ever after was yours. We lived our entire lives in a never ending hardship." She points her finger to the wall, "those people are not your friends. Evie was your friend. Evie is everything you could ever want and need."

He gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing. "My answer is no."

"So, let me get this straight. You're choosing  _them_ , you're choosing  _Chad_ , over  _Evie_." He doesn't say anything and Mal slams her hands on the table, shocking him. "Say it Doug. I want you to fucking say it."

He takes a deep breath and looks at her, "If the situation was reversed and you all were in here and I were here with Evie, giving her the same ultimatum you've just given me, what do you think she would say?" Mal doesn't have to think. She knows. She knows Evie would take one look at him, laugh herself hoarse and then tell him to go fuck himself and she'll see him in hell. She knows that Evie would come back to the cell and tell them and Mal would be so angry with her because she could have lived. She could have been free and Evie would tell her that she would never be free knowing that she would be able to live and they wouldn't. Or that she would be free and they would be sentenced back to the Isle of the Lost, never to see each other again. This is what Evie would do.

In a way, Mal understands Doug. She understands that while Doug may have been a victim, he is still one of them. They are still the people he grew up with and the only family he's ever known. It's all this self-sacrificing shit that's giving her an ulcer. "I want you to say it." Mal says through gritted teeth, hoping against all hope that she's wrong.

"I'm choosing Chad over Evie. I'm choosing Good over Evil."

She stands up and walks to the door, suddenly feeling weary. "Then you really are your father's son." She sighs and turns her head, looking over her shoulder. "I won't spare you. Evie won't spare you. This is your last chance."

"If you're going to kill me, I'll die with honor."

"You'll die a  _coward_ , Doug. That's what you'll die as, because those people, they won't mourn you. Stop fooling yourself into thinking they will."

( _But Evie will_ , Mal thinks as she walks out of the room and nods to Trent who walks in and grabs Doug, roughly pushing him back into the dungeons and his cell,  _Evie will mourn you, right after she kills you. Because a Queen can only be questioned so many times before she orders execution.)_

* * *

When she gets back into the room, Evie is still sleeping and Mal slips back into the same position she was in before she left.

"What did he say?" Evie asks, her voice weary with sleep and sadness.

Mal has never kept a secret from Evie (except for when she and Jay first got together, but even then, Mal could hardly keep it from her for long) and she doesn't intend to start now. "He chose Chad."

Evie doesn't say anything; instead, Mal can feel her body tense. "Then he chose his side."

"Evie-"

"Mal," Evie interrupts her, "don't." She turns around and wraps her arms around Mal's waist. "It's us against the world."

"It's always been us against the world." She murmurs. "We could banish him."

"No." She says immediately and Mal can feel her voice hardening into steel and it is in that moment she knows her as  _Queen Evie_ , with a voice like ice and leaves no room for argument. "Death."

"Death." Mal whispers back.

(Death is an old friend they know well.)

* * *

(The next day, in front of an audience and his weeping father, Evie makes Doug eat a poisoned apple down to the core. He chokes on it; vomit coating his shirt, gasping, struggling, hands reaching out for Evie who stares back dispassionately. As he lies twitching, sobs struggling to fall from his throat, Evie rises from her throne and stares down at him. "I am a  _Queen_ ," she says, her eyes devoid of any emotion, "and you will die as  _nothing_."

When Doug stops breathing, Evie turns her head, eyes falling on a familiar figure. "Chad." She purrs, walking towards him with a vicious smile, "Chad, Chad, Chad."

Mal shivers, first glancing at Carlos who turns his head and bites back a smirk and then to Jay who is trying not to show excitement on his face.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet." Evie continues. "I'm sure you two will get on fabulously."

Before Chad can open his mouth to say anything, a voice cuts through the crowd. "Hello, Step-Cousin." Dawn elbows her way through the crowd, a cackle making its way from the depths of her throat as Chad's face turns ashen, eyes widening and his head snaps left and right, trying to find his parents in the crowd. "If you're looking for mommy and daddy dearest, they're otherwise engaged." She grabs his face and squeezes, ignoring his groan of pain, "It's a shame Asher couldn't be here. You know  _who_ Asher is, right? No? She  _was_  my cousin, more like a sister really. She died on the Isle from starvation. Your fucking family killed my  _sister_  and I have been waiting for this day for  _years_."

Chad whimpers and starts crying.

"Save your tears, Chad," Evie says, patting him on the head and makes her way back to her throne, stepping over Doug's body and sitting down elegantly, not a hair out of place, "you'll need them.")

* * *

When she's finally able to catch a moment with Jay, she all but collapses on him. He laughs and holds her tight, turning her so she's under him, legs wrapped around his waist and hands shoving at each other's clothes. "I've missed you." She breathes.

"I love you." He confesses into her skin.

Mal's heart bursts and she doesn't bother muffling her sounds, letting the entire kingdom hear her screams.

* * *

"I heard a rumor." Carlos tells Mal in the library one day.

"There are a lot of rumors, what's this one?"

"The rest of our parents are attempting to overthrow us."

_Well_ , Mal thinks, _that's one I'd never heard_. "Are they recruiting?"

Carlos shrugs. "Attempting to. We've apparently struck fear into the hearts of everyone."

"Good."

They're silent when Carlos sighs, "How did it feel to kill your mother?"

"Like freedom."

"That's what I thought."

"Carlos, it's highly unlikely that your parents will go through the attempt to overthrow us. My mother was the ringleader. Yours were just pawns in her game."

"I know." He replies. Suddenly he grins, "We may want to invest in soundproof walls though."

She lets out a loud laugh that's caught between an indignant gasp and he roars while dodging a book that flies at his head.

* * *

(The next day Cruella de Vil is found dead, face first in the mud and body shredded by what looks like claws.

The day after that the Evil Queen is found dead from what they deemed suicide, poison, in the form of an apple.

The day after that, Jafar is found dead from what looked like a mugging gone wrong.)

No one can ever say they don't take threats seriously.

* * *

Ahmed is the only one left in their apparent little circle of friends. He looks worse for wear. His face bruised, his body limp, as if the fight had left him (and Mal thinks it did, because he's watched his friends die, he's watched them be tortured, poisoned and he's the only one living. Survivor's guilt is hard, or so at least Mal figures.)

The cells are sparser than when she was in last. Mal can't even make herself feel guilty.

"Ahmed." She greets, stopping in front of his cell, grabbing a chair from the corner and dragging it in front of his cell before sitting on it.

He looks at her with accusing eyes and his fists clench in anger and she thinks in wishful retaliation. Trent is behind her with a few more of his guards and she knows that Ahmed won't do anything. Not if he values his life.

(If she's honest with herself, he probably doesn't and she probably thinks that they're all waiting and wishing for a death that still eludes some of them.)

"What do you want?" He spits at her and she can see missing teeth in his mouth.

She remembers when he wasn't a bruised and battered mess, he was quite handsome, and ironically, exactly her type, all tall, dark and handsome with a slight Arabian accent. "I think you know exactly what I want."

He chuckles, it's dark and empty, and Mal wonders why in the face of death, destruction and adversity is it that the dark side of people shows? Because if everyone embraced their dark side instead of for the sake of good that doesn't exist anymore, they wouldn't be here.

(But no, instead they still fight for the so-called goodness that they've known and hope for a salvation that was granted to them in the past. They should know better by now. There are no saviors anymore. Just devils and the damned.)

"If I don't?"

Mal shrugs, "Your parents and sister are still in Agrabah, aren't they?"

He's up and against the bars faster than she can blink. She expected this though, so she schools her face and doesn't jump. "You can't touch them there."

Mal cocks her head and almost laughs in his face. "Actually, I can. Because you see, Agrabah is an Auradon colony and well, who's in charge of Auradon, again? Right. Us." She leans forward, elbows on her knees, "you can either tell me where or I will make you watch as your precious little family dies."

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Either way, someone is dying right." It's not a question, more of a statement.

"You're smart."

He rolls his eyes. "For the son of a street rat, right?"

* * *

She has it wrapped and it's carried carefully in her arms when she walks into Jay's room. He's bent over a desk, papers and books sprawled out, maps with lines drawn on it and he's studying them intently when she closes the door. He lifts the arm closer to her up without even looking and she folds herself into him. "I got you something." She whispers, as she places it on the table.

His mouth falls open, head whipping to face her and there is a sense of wonderment in his face. A sense of gratefulness in his eyes and all Mal wants to do is drown in him. All she wants is to see this happiness in his face everyday. "Is that…?"

She nods eagerly, "yes."

He picks her up and she shrieks and laughs, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his waist as she kisses him roughly and he walks them to the bed, where he falls onto it and she follows him, legs bracketing his.

She peppers kisses over his face, collarbone and practically tears his shirt off. God, she misses this. She misses him. "I love you." She gasps, out of breath, hands steadying herself against his chest. "I love you."

He smiles and it reaches his eyes, brightening them and she's thankful she's on the bed and not standing because her knees go weak. "I love you too, my Queen."

She shakes her head, "just Mal. It's always been just Mal with you."

(They kiss each other, until they're close to devouring each other and she slides onto him, hips moving eagerly and desperately with him pressing open-mouthed kisses, whispering ' _I love you'_  and ' _Mal_ ' across her skin, leaving a mark on her heart, body and soul.)

* * *

(Jay sends Ahmed back to Agrabah, the day after that.

"Why didn't you just kill him?" Mal asks him, pressed tight against him, chest heaving and body soaked in hers and his sweat.

"Because," he replies, kissing her and thrusting into her, "I want them to be indebted to me. I want them to remember that I can kill him and them anytime I want." He bends his head and bits her earlobe, eliciting moans from her, "I want them to remember that we own them."

Mal gasps out and chokes back a laugh. She loves this boy. She always will.)

* * *

"It almost doesn't seem worth it." Carlos says one day in the throne room. "There's so little of them to have an audience."

"I don't want to banish them to the Isle because it's ours. I don't want them running around in the streets we grew up in." Evie confesses. "We could always cast them to sea and let the water do her work."

"They know how to swim." Jay counters.

Mal's hands stroke the ruby necklace, eyeing the tower in her sight. "We stick to the original plan." She says, cocking her head to the side. "We burn them."

* * *

(In the end, all that's left are Jane, Lonnie and her parents and Audrey, her parents and her grandparents and their screams are everything Mal thought they'd be and more.

"You're going to burn." Mal tells them. "There will be no escaping. There will be no salvation. You will not be saved. You lost. We won. And you will burn."

Lonnie starts crying, careening into her mother and father who hold on to each other tightly. Jane remains stoic, in the catatonic state that she's been in since her mother's heart was carved out.

Audrey stands up, her grandmother and parents reaching out to her. "You think you've won. You're wrong because evil will never win. You may have the throne and crown but you don't know the first thing about ruling a Kingdom. You will die and this will be all for nothing."

"Sweetheart," Mal tells her, "watching you burn is everything I've ever wanted. So sit your fucking ass down because nothing you say or do will make me change my mind."

Audrey levels her with a glare. "One day you're going to regret this."

Mal laughs until tears stream down her cheeks. "Not fucking likely.")

When the screams stop and the dungeons are nothing but a charred mess, Evie, Carlos, Jay and Mal raise their specters to the sky that cackles with thunder and lightening and Mal's eyes glow green.

The people in front of them cheer, feet stomping, chants of " _Long Live Evil_ " and " _Evil Lives_ " echoing across Auradon.

* * *

Running a kingdom is hard, but they do it with everything they know and everything they have. They've started and ended wars. They've conquered and lost but they're still reigning and they still command respect and fear. It's everything they've ever wanted and they're still together and Mal thinks that counts for something.

They still sleep in the same room sometimes. Mal and Jay in one bed and Evie and Carlos in another bed. She and Evie often spend the night staring at each other from across their place in bed and whispering back and forth until Jay groans and Carlos tells them to shut-up. They'll laugh as quietly as they can and bury themselves under their respective blankets and it feels just like home.

There will be times when Mal will look out the windows and see the Isle of the Lost, desolate and lonely, the golden path still there and she wonders how it looks. She wonders what became of their old haunts.

On her twentieth birthday, she wakes before the sun and extracts herself from Jay's arms and slips on clothes. The kingdom is still asleep and she nods at the guards and waves them off when they make to follow her for protection. Instead, she walks the path alone, mind reeling with memories.

The Isle of the Lost is empty and silent, dust kicking up around her as the wind gently blows. She runs her fingers across decrepit buildings and walls and walks across the market and by buildings that were once torn and now demolished with lack of use. She climbs ladders and windowsills, until she sits on the ledge of a roof, overlooking Auradon.

It still glows but there is a dangerous glint to it as the sun rises above it.

There are days when she thinks this is a dream, where she'll wake up and still not believe that everything happened and that her revenge,  _their_  revenge was accomplished and more.

"Do you regret anything?" A voice asks from the shadows.

Mal grins against her purple leather jacket, eyes not leaving Auradon as he walks out of the shadows. She had an inkling that he would know as soon as she left the bed and she knew that he knew exactly where she would be. She hears more than one pair of footsteps and knows that Evie and Carlos have joined him.

_One day_ , Audrey told her,  _you're going to regret this._

She thinks about Audrey often, more than Mal would like to admit, but it has nothing to do with regret or even remorse, it's more to do with how wrong Audrey was. Mal doesn't regret anything because  _this_  is everything she has ever known. She has been tested and tried and Mal still stands true to herself and everything she stands for.

"Not a fucking bit." She responds. "Any of you?"

Evie chuckles and takes a seat next to her. "Never."

"Never." Carlos confirms taking the seat next to Evie.

"Never." Jay repeats as he sits next to Mal, arm wrapped around her shoulder and lips pressed against her forehead.

Mal leans into him and watches as the sky turns to hues of pink, orange and yellow.

"This is really ours." Evie says.

"Fucking finally." They breathe as one.

* * *

(The history books will remember them as more than children of villains. They will remember them as kings and queens.

Never underestimate youth who have revenge on their minds and each other painted in their hearts.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. YOUR SUPPORT IS AMAZING AND I AM JUST SO SO AMAZED. 
> 
> Thank you all so much again!

**Author's Note:**

> If you're still with me, you are so amazing. I hope you all liked it. It'll get darker from here on in.


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